Dunamu Establishes 'Next Steppers' Hope Fund for Vulnerable Youth

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Dunamu, the operator of the cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, announced on the 10th that it will establish the 'Next Steppers' Hope Fund to support vulnerable youth.

The Hope Fund will be established with a scale of approximately 5.8 billion KRW. It was prepared to support the independence of vulnerable youth who find it difficult to plan a hopeful future due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, deteriorating employment environment, and job market difficulties. In particular, the focus is on providing practical support measures for young people who find it difficult to obtain loans from commercial banks and other financial institutions and are exposed to risks such as multiple debts and illegal loans.

The Next Steppers program consists of two parts and will be conducted over the next two years targeting a total of 1,000 people. First, 600 young people aged 19 to 34 with multiple debts will receive a grant of 5 million KRW per person, and mandatory financial education will be conducted jointly with the Social Solidarity Bank for the purpose of sustainable financial life.

Additionally, 400 young people who complete monthly savings missions will be given the opportunity to double their assets as Dunamu will match the same amount. For example, if participants save up to 300,000 KRW monthly for one year, Dunamu will match 3.6 million KRW, allowing a total of 7.2 million KRW to be accumulated. All participants are required to choose one course among finance, employment, or career and can receive mentoring from experts. Through expert coaching, participants will have the opportunity to establish a roadmap not only for income management skills but also for future planning. Among those who receive the 5 million KRW grant, an additional 200 participants with strong independence will be selected to receive roadmap mentoring opportunities.

Dunamu plans to continuously use the entire 5.8 billion KRW, equivalent to last year's customer deposit interest income, to support youth excluded from financial support. In particular, rather than temporary financial aid, it plans to play a stepping stone role for youth in crisis to achieve independence and nurture their dreams through comprehensive support including mentoring and education. Furthermore, it will review ways to actively contribute to social contribution projects by utilizing future interest income for ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management.

Meanwhile, Dunamu is investing 100 billion KRW by 2024 for ESG management and is focusing on creating social value and nurturing young talent. To this end, in August last year, it donated a total of 20 billion KRW to Seoul National University to support young entrepreneurs and revitalize the startup ecosystem. In November last year, it signed a business agreement with the Korea Student Aid Foundation and the Blue Lighthouse Dunamu Donation Scholarship Project to solve the educational exclusion problem of vulnerable youth and donated 7 billion KRW. Along with this, since last year, it has been conducting a Youth Digital Finance Classroom program in cooperation with Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education to enhance young people's understanding of digital finance and expand career opportunities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.